


Out of the Wild

by Kyaptain



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Awkward Romance, Comedy, Fluff, Language Barrier, Light Angst, M/M, protective ignis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-06-14 13:27:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15389739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyaptain/pseuds/Kyaptain
Summary: Noctis has always felt an emptiness from never getting closure on the disappearance of his dear friend, but closure comes in the form of a feral and very naked man.





	1. Ch.1

The young Prince of Lucis held an obvious look of discontent standing in the throne room with his father, King Regis. Called upon from his playroom, all he was told was that he would be meeting someone important today. There was that word, ‘Important’. To the young Prince, it meant his father meeting with other grown men and women at formal dinner parties and listening to boring adult conversations he couldn’t follow. He stood there while hiding behind his father’s legs. Important means rarely getting to see or play with his father because he has to attend countless meetings with those old people in long robes. So when they said he’d be meeting someone like that, a pout was already in place as he was not looking forward to this particular encounter.  


He was led away through the main hall dragging his feet. They turn into a corridor connecting directly to the throne room only to come across two figures standing on the top of the stairs. An older man and a younger boy who seemed to be a few years older than Noctis’ age. Young Noct and Regis walk up the steps to stand across from them. Hiding behind his father, he surveys the expansive room and realizes how daunting it truly is. Every little step or shuffle echoes within its confines.

Regis beckons him closer and settles his hand on his son’s back.

“Noctis, this is one of my Advisors and he has brought along his nephew to meet with you,” he urges him forward. “Say hello, Noctis. This young boy is going to be _your_ future Advisor.”

The boy with the glasses steps forward and bows in front of Noctis as he introduces himself with every ounce of formality instilled in him.

“Good afternoon, your Highness. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope we can get along from here on out.” All Ignis receives is silence in return from the young Prince. Ignis lifts his head and straightens himself back up again. With the stretched silence, he fixes his glasses unsure on how to proceed from here.

He sees the disgruntled look on the younger’s face and believes he knows now what to do instead. He clears his throat.

“My apologies. May I start over?” He glances to Noctis for permission and the younger boy returns back scrunched eyebrows.

The bespectacled boy smiles down at the Prince and reintroduces himself.

“Hello Noctis, I am Ignis. Would you like to be friends?” He sticks out his hand for a handshake. Young Noctis looks down at the offered hand with surprise. He grabs the older boy’s hand with both of his, glances up with those large slate-blue eyes and beams back a welcoming smile. Ignis feels a warm flutter in his chest.

Regis smiles down delighted at the two boys. He’s happy to know another child around Noctis’ age will be roaming around the palace.

~~  


For the next several months, Ignis continues his studies within the structures of the Citadel. As his role for future Advisor of the next King, he undergoes intensive training and lessons under the best tutors Insomnia has to offer. 

As intelligent and mature as Ignis is, Regis still sees him as a child and convinces the young boy to take breaks by spending time having fun. It isn’t difficult finding a playmate for him when Noctis happily volunteers being one. This entails dragging Ignis around the Citadel and playing in the garden squares. There are also the rare and sought after moments of getting to take a relaxing car ride in the Regalia with Regis in the driver’s seat, the man more than happy to see the two enjoying their time.

During the nights, Ignis would frequently find the young Prince having snuck into his bedroom and slid under the covers where they would entangle their limbs until the morning.

If it wasn’t Ignis’s room where they would play, it was in Noct’s. The raven-haired boy always insisted on building a blanket fort in his bedroom and stuff it with pillows. It was Noctis’ ideal location for when he would have Ignis read him a book of constellations. The older boy would teach him the meaning and stories behind each of the patterns scattered across the sky and without fail, the younger would doze off peacefully on his shoulder. Ignis would smile down at the Prince and bring the blanket around them closer. Each night before bed, Noctis would pray to the Six that he and Ignis could spend every day like this together.

Unfortunately, wishing was never enough.

~~  


All Noctis remembered was lying in a pool of blood. Lifting his hand up, he sees the blood drip from his fingers. He’s not sure how much was his and how much belonged to the body lying next to him, but every second that passes, his mind grows hazier.

It was just supposed to be a planned trip into the Duscae region for a little bit of fishing and catching fireflies. Noctis was disappointed to find out his father wouldn’t be able to make it to the trip due to having to direct his attention toward an urgent meeting with the council. Disappointed his father wouldn’t be able to go, he pleaded for Ignis to go on the trip with him. Regis feeling guilty he had to break his promise with Noctis, he allowed the other boy to tag along, only if Ignis had agreed as well. Noctis was ecstatic when Ignis was more than willing to accompany him. They left early in the day with a group of attendants and bodyguards to escort them to the trip.

The two hadn't wanted to miss the rare opportunity to venture out into the greener side of Lucis territory.

It was at the end of the day on the way back to Insomnia is when everything went horribly wrong.

  


A Marilith. 

  


The rampaging daemon had obstructed their path causing the cars to all skid to a stop.

From inside their vehicle, all they could see was a scaly beast slithering past them. The young boys huddled close, apprehensive of the danger looming right outside. A force slams into the side of their car. The attendant sitting in the back pushes the door on her side open to quickly direct the boys to evacuate the vehicle. She turns toward them when another violent slam from the monster hits the car and knocks the attendant out cold. Out of all the cars, the Marilith had set her targets on the one containing the boys. She hacks and slashes at the metal trunk with her arsenal of blades. As she does this, Ignis sees they are edging closer to the beginning of a steep hillside.

“Noctis! We have to leave this vehicle now!”

“W-what do we do?” He yells back with fear seeped in his voice.”

“On the count of three, we’ll jump out together. One..two…” Ignis tugs his right leg up and panic sets in his eyes.

His foot is stuck. 

He hadn't realized the seat belt got tangled around his foot when the daemon was slamming everything within the car on their first attempt to exit the vehicle.

He looks past the front windshield toward the oncoming edge and back to the Marilith, then sets his eyes on Noctis. In a  moment of lightning speed judgment, he lays his hand on Noctis’ chest and yells out, “THREE!”

With all his might, he pushes Noctis out of the moving car. From the momentum, Noctis rolls away in the opposite direction. 

When his body finally stops rolling, he sits up and looks to where the car is headed only for it to disappear down the hillside and out of his sights.

“IGNIS!”

The Marilith turns around toward the shout and looks at the small figure of the boy. Noctis is frozen in fear when the beast spots him. She screeches into the air and begins slithering toward him. Noctis pushes himself up and begins running away from the beast. As he tries to make his escape, a burning and unbearable sensation shoots through his spine and down his entire backside. He falls to the ground near another body. He lies there helpless and completely defenseless, blood is beginning to pool around his head. Glancing around, the world begins to sway and darken. With flames ablaze, he was barely conscious enough to witness his father and Clarus arriving to fight back the Marilith, every noise sounding like a distant echo. His mind flashes an image of his friend before his body gives up and he passes out.

~~

Navigating through his dreamscape with the help of his friend Carbuncle, Noctis begins to stir back into the realm of the living.

The frail Prince hears distant shouts of someone yelling, “Your Majesty! Come quickly, we believe he’s waking up!” He hears a body rush beside him and holding his hand.

Noctis opens his eyes weakly to the sight of his father crying over him.

The man smiles down at his son, relief across his face.

“Dad.” He croaks out.

“Shhh Noctis. You’re ok now. You don’t need to speak.” He sits on the bed with him and runs a hand through his son’s soft hair, soothing him in the process. Noctis wants nothing more than to shut his eyes and goes back to sleep, but he needs to know where his friend is, that he’s alright. He manages to ask with his hoarse voice, “Where’s Ignis? Is…he ok?” Regis’ heart drops. He just can’t tell him. He can’t tell his son the truth when he’s still so weak and barely conscious.

“He’s…in another room. Resting.” Thankfully, Noctis doesn’t ask anything more when his eyes close to fall back into a deep sleep.

Regis feels repulsion with himself having to lie to his child, but if there’s a chance they could find Ignis before Noctis can recover enough, he’ll do everything in his power to make it happen.

He received reports back that when sweeping the area, they found a car still intact but no sign of a body anywhere nearby. It’s a hopeful sign that it’s not a definite fact the child is dead, but the boy could still be out there with injuries being left unattended. He orders them to keep searching everywhere and not leave any pebble unturned.

~~

It’s two weeks later when Noctis demands he at least see Ignis. Each day that passes, Noctis begins to worry more and more that he’s not allowed to see Ignis. He had to know how badly his friend was hurt.

Regis resigns himself. There was no point in stalling anymore. Noctis would need to find out sooner or later. His face falls into a deep grimace. He closes the door behind him and walks over to sit down on the child-sized bed. He rests his hands on the boy’s shoulders and quietly demands his attention.

He carefully tells his son everything.

As he listens, Noctis’ eyes begin to widen. At first his face falls into disbelief. Telling himself his father is just lying and the truth _was_ that Ignis is really in another room, just needing to recover. He sees pain in his father’s eyes and suddenly it hits him that his father isn’t lying. Noctis begins breathing heavily and it turns into a series of shaky breaths and quiet sobs. Regis catches his son when he collapses on his chest with tears running down his cheeks and shoulders shaking.

“This is all my fault. I-…I should have never asked him to go on the trip.” He sobs out.

Regis holds him tight, letting his son cry in his arms.

“Noctis, listen to me, none of this is your fault, do you understand me?”

Noctis says nothing, but he lightly nods his head in understanding and continues sobbing into his father’s chest.

Regis rests the side of his face on the smaller’s head and feels his heart break. It’s as if he brought this pain to Noctis himself. Indirectly he did, by not being there. He failed his son and failed Ignis.

It feels like hours passed while crying in his father’s arms.

The young boy chokes back his sobs to ask, “They’ll find him, right?” A deep exhale escapes Regis. “I pray to the Six they do Noct.”

~~

The King and Prince travel to Tenebrae to seek the healing aid from the Oracle, Queen Sylva herself, in the hopes to help Noctis recuperate and gain mobility back into his legs. There, he also meets her children Luna and her elder brother Ravus. It’s a nice stay at the Fenestala Manor. In the time he’s there, he tries to focus on his recovery. Noctis gets wheeled around by Luna, touring through Tenebrae's lush, green, mountainous area in the skies. She shows Noctis one of her favorite places, the fields of sylleblossoms. Luna picks a flower from the ground and sets it in Noctis’ lap. He lifts the flower into his palms and admires the detail on the single plant. It's all so beautiful and fascinating to him, but he can't help thinking about Ignis. He wishes he was here in this moment enjoying the flowers right next to him. All he can do is allow his body to heal while waiting for any news about his friend.

Weeks go by with no new updates. The weeks turn into months and the search party has dwindled to fewer people. Noctis still holds out hope his friend will turn up and return to them, but then years go by and that flame of hope keeps getting dimmer and dimmer until it turns into embers.

 

At times it’s almost snuffed out, but that tiny flicker of hope in him never seems to disappear completely.


	2. Ch.2

Twelve years.

It had already been that long since the disappearance of his childhood friend.

Noctis Lucis Caelum, son of King Regis and Prince of Lucis, now a young adult at age twenty. Most days he’s able to forget that horrific night, a memory buried deep in the back of his mind. It was easier to live life that way. Other days that memory bursts out like flames, just like the ones caused by the destruction of the Marilith’s rampaging actions. Having to get through those days are the hardest. When he closes his eyes, he can clearly picture every second of that horrific event. Many days, he holes himself up in his room. He lies on his bed with his arm covering his eyes waiting for the dark, heavy feelings of guilt to leave.

No matter how much time passes, the many therapy visits, or how much his father tells him it wasn’t his fault, he knows in his heart that it was.

If it wasn’t for his selfish wishes as a child, 'he'would still be around.  

Since that day, something within him shifted. He was never really the same after that. He was more of a shell of his former younger self.

Sometimes he wonders if getting ‘closure’ would have put everything to rest, be able to finally move on and to truly heal from that dark point in his life, but he never wanted to accept that awful truth that his friend had completely left their world.

The following years were made easier having Luna being a constant emotional support in his life. True she lived in Tenebrae, but they kept up communication mainly through a shared journal that Umbra and Pryna would travel back and forth with. They had their phone or text conversations from time to time, but to Noctis, it was easier writing his thoughts on the journal’s paper.

~~

His alarm goes off signaling his least favorite part of the day: getting up early in the morning and leaving his bed. He sits up and yawns away his sleep. Dark locks of his hair tangled up in a mess. He rubs his tired eyes and then glances around his room. It’s one of the more luxurious bedrooms of the palace, spacious with expensive interiors. He may be a prince but he doesn’t really need this much room. He could live with a smaller space. He had once, five years ago when he convinced his dad to let him live away from the Citadel, albeit he was only away for a short period:

 

“Noctis, this is exactly why I wanted one of my attendants to be of service for you. Look at the filth you’re living in.”

Regis had made an unexpected visit to Noctis’ apartment to see for himself how his son was handling himself on his own. He expected a mess, but he was not prepared for the chaos beyond the front door.

“Dad, please! I know it looks bad right now but just give me more time.” He begs with pleading eyes. Noctis had no desire to have a random attendant taking care of him at his apartment outside the Citadel. What was the point of living on his own? The only people he liked having over at his apartment were Prompto and Gladio, but Prompto mostly came over for studying, games, and eating take-out. Gladio would come visit but mainly to take him to training. He was also adamant he was his trainer and not his babysitter. Noctis was able to keep up with his high school studies and had maintained some admirable report cards, but barely. With the amount of studying he had to do, there were other aspects of his life he had neglected to keep up. His council meeting notes were barely passable. Even with his own on-call chauffeur, he tended to arrive at the meetings late on multiple occasions.

Regis knew how important it was for Noctis to have a chance to get some distance away from the Citadel. He knows all too well how suffocating it can be, but seeing the state of his apartment was appalling.

Regis looked around at the type of foods he was consuming on a daily basis. Reading the ingredients included not a single vegetable. Since it seemed Noctis was too busy with studying and training to learn how to cook on his own, there were countless boxes of empty frozen foods. Papers were scattered everywhere and clothing dumped in random piles. It was a wonder how he had an outfit for the next day.

Regis wanted to have more faith in his son, but he knew this just wasn’t going to work out. He looks down at his teenage son with a mixture of sadness and disappointment in his eyes.

“Noct. I would love to give you this chance, the opportunity to give you some freedom, but without someone we can both agree on to help you live out here, it’s just not going to continue on like this. I'm sorry son.”

Noctis was going to say more to somehow salvage his situation, but when he looks behind him and sees the mounds of trash and take out food and notes scattered, he turns back to his father. That was it. He knew his father had already reached his decision and was not planning on changing it. Noctis' brows furrowed as he grits his teeth. He tries to think of something, anything to keep his sacred independence, but nothing comes to mind. His hands unclench in surrender. With a quiet and detached attitude, Noctis complies, “I’ll start packing my bags.”

 

Noctis Lucis Caelum reluctantly moved back to the Citadel after 2 months.

~~

A few years have passed since he graduated high school. Studying is still part of his everyday life, but it’s entirely focused on the political aspects of his role as prince of Lucis. Along with his studies, he is still honing his warping skills and weapon handling to one day handle the ring from the king.

As the only heir to the throne, he has long accepted he’d never actually have a life away from any of this. It’s a reality that still never gets any easier to welcome.

He comes down to the kitchen and sees the chefs have already prepared a hearty meal for him. He’s eating breakfast as he receives a notification on King’s Knight from Prompto. ‘ _Raid at 2?’_ He writes back that he’ll remember and Prompto sends back a sticker with two thumbs up.

His mind wanders to what’s on his schedule for today. He looks down at his phone’s calendar and almost reels at the multi-colored blocks of appointments. He shoves his phone back in his pocket. Sometimes he thinks he should get an assistant to tell him the gist of his schedule or upcoming events instead of looking at it himself. Something of an advisor of sorts- No.

He’s not going to think about that right now. He continues to eat his breakfast and receives another text message, this time from Gladio.

[Gladio]: better be in the gym by the time I get there

Noctis huffs in annoyance, even though there is no one around to hear him do it. He types back.

[Noct]: yea yea I know I’m already walking there

[Gladio]: somehow I don’t believe you and that you’re probably still eating breakfast

_Crap. How did he know?_

He hurries eating and hopes he doesn’t throw up his food again like the last time during one of Gladio’s more ruthless training regimens.

He speeds to the training grounds and is relieved to see Gladio isn’t there yet. He sits down on a bench to play a little King’s Knight while he waits. He sees Prompto is also online playing, probably collecting daily bonuses. Prompto pings him through the game to ask if he’s going to team up with him and battle together for a few rounds.

Noctis writes back in the game’s chatbox, [Oh yeah u know it]

He loses track of time and the loud sound of a duffle bag drops right next to Noctis and it startles him into whipping his head looking up to see Gladio staring down at him.

“I see you decided to play King’s Knight instead of doing your stretches.” Noctis scratches his head in mock shame. “I guess I got a little distracted.” He sighs, “Alright, fine. I’m getting ready.” He puts his phone away and heads to the center of the gym with Gladio in tow.

~~

 “C’mon Noct! You call that fighting?” Clangs of hard metal echo throughout the room as the two swing their weapons against one another. Gladio moves his oversized weapon through the air with breeze. Noctis almost gets caught in the blade’s path until he warps out at the last second. He tumbles behind Gladio and takes a swing at him, but only for it to be blocked by Gladio’s broadsword. Noctis manages to deflect the weapon enough to warp away from Gladio again. He makes it to the other side of the room only to see Gladio throw his blade at him. He manages to dodge in time. He looks behind himself to see the broadsword pierce the wall before disappearing into a blue afterimage.

Noctis pants before turning back to that tattooed man.

“The fuck Gladio? Trying to kill me there?”

Gladio makes the sword reappear in his hand again and holds it over his shoulder to walk up to Noctis.

“You think enemies out there will go easy on you just ‘cause you’re the prince?” He scoffs.

“I’ll probably die from your training before an assassin even gets the chance to kill me.”

“Hah, someone had to get that scrawny little ass of yours into shape.”

They’re both sweating with droplets running down their face. “I think it’s about time for a break anyways.”

They walk over to a bench and begin wiping their sweat down with a towel along with hydrating themselves with water.

They’re ready to do another series of workouts when Noctis stops because sees one of his father’s attendants heading towards their way in what seems to be a rush.

“Your Highness, may I speak with you a moment?”

Noctis nods toward the attendant to allow him to go on.

“I just came here to relay a message from King Regis. He heard you were in the middle of your training and would probably not be able to answer your phone right away, so he asked one of us to send his message. He requests your presence in the Council room immediately.” Noctis looks over at Gladio with confusion and Gladio shrugs back, just as uncertain as him. He turns to the attendant and gives him his answer.

“Tell my father I’ll be there soon, I just uh-,“ he sniffs a little at his shirt and makes a face, “I’ll be there as soon as I’m more presentable.”

The attendant bows. “Of course your Highness.” He stands to height and hurriedly makes his way back to relay the message.

The taller man picks up his duffle bag and moves to start packing some of his stuff.

“Alright, this sounds important so I’ll cut practice short for today.” Gladio huffs out. “Too bad. I had a lot more harder stuff in mind than our little play fight.”

Noctis laughs, “Right, like it was such an easy time keeping up with my warping.”

“Can’t depend on your stamina to last you in a fight forever Noct. Well, whatever. Maybe I’ll go see if Blondie is free today.” He smirks at the thought of seeing his boyfriend.

Noctis gags in mock disgust. “Ugh, yeah, go be gross somewhere else.” He’s happy his friends are together, he really is, he just sometimes hates feeling like the third wheel in their little friend group when they hang out.

Gladio wraps a sweaty arm around Noct’s shoulder.

“What? Is the princess jealous? We gotta get you some action too. Got any girl in mind or…even a guy?” Noctis rolls his eyes away from the tattooed man. He doesn’t want to get into that conversation again.

Gladio continues his teasing, “Or maybe you got another date with Righty tonight?”

Noctis groans at that and lightly shoves Gladio away. “Get out of here already. You need to shower too before seeing Prompto. I'm sure he doesn't want to smell sweaty behemoth in his presence.”

“I think I’ll get some more running in first to make up for our short practice. See ya later Noct.“

He sends his friend a small wave before heading towards the locker room to take a quick shower himself. The cool water feels nice washing away any dirt and grime and the dried layer of workout sweat, but it does not diminish the thoughts whirling around his head.

What could be so urgent that his dad needed to see him for?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> do you ever just think about how much easier noct's life was in that one ep of brotherhood cuz ignis exists


	3. Ch.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry it's been a while life got kinda busy. For most of this chapter I’m just gonna bs my way through the process of these council meetings. This setup needed to be written before we can get to the better stuff. I do hope you all like where everything is headed though.

 

Noctis hurries down through the vast corridors of the Citadel. He greets the two glaives guarding at the front entrance of the council room.

They do their salute to the prince before opening the doors to allow him to pass through.

He walks in to find his father in the middle of heavy discussion.

Noctis makes his presence known. “I came as soon as I could, your Majesty.” Referring to his father so formerly has always been strange to him, but in the company of high councilmen, he feels it’s the most appropriate thing to do.

“Noctis, thank you for arriving so swiftly. I apologize if this meeting has interrupted your daily activities. Now quickly, have a seat.” The prince makes his way to one of the empty seats closest to his father. The urgency in his voice suddenly puts Noctis on edge.

As they’re waiting for their visitor to be brought in, Regis turns to Noctis to speak to him in whispered tones.

“I didn’t mean for this to sound so alarming, but when my advisor briefed me on this man’s case last week, I noticed something that I feel _you_ also needed to see.” Noctis wanted to ask him more questions, but then an official walks in to introduce their visitor.

“Members of the Council, I’d like to direct your attention to the Head Hunter for Meldacio Hunter HQ, Dave Auburnbrie.”

A middle-aged man of a stocky and muscular build then enters past the doors. Noctis notices the tattoos covering his arms and the dark, rough attire.

“Thank you for allowing me an audience and pushing up my case, your Majesty.” He bows towards Regis’ direction.

“I came here today to be a representative and speak to you about an issue happening outside your borders.” Noctis takes note of the rough accent from this particular hunter.

“As you may be aware, our purpose as Hunters is to aid any citizens in the regions outside of Insomnia with daemon or other beast related problems by hunting them down. As of late, there have been a group of beasts affecting the livestock of farmers. Coeurls to be precise.”

Noctis speaks up, “And why is this a matter that needs to be brought to our attention? Surely your hunters can handle this situation yourselves.” As part of his preparations for the throne, the prince had been encouraged to engage himself in the council meetings. Usually he would much rather just sit back and listen, maybe open up King’s Knight, but a hunter from outside the Walls appearing before them must mean whatever he wants to discuss is far from trivial.

‘Yes, your Highness, usually this is a situation we can solve ourselves, but it’s not something as simple as one or two coeurls interrupting the lives of a few farmers. It seems to be the same pack of coeurls hunting and stealing livestock from every farm successfully. Excuse my language, but coeurls are a bitch to fight against. Sometimes my hunters barely escape with their lives going up against just one.

It’s getting to the point even produce farmers are getting affected too. People aren’t going to risk their lives working in the fields when word of beast keep hitting their fields. I’m sure the people of Insomnia have noticed a jump in price on their groceries as of late.”

There are whispered murmurs among the councilmen echoing around the room.

“That isn’t even the strangest part, I’ve been getting multiple reports back that my hunters swear they spotted a man running closely with the pack.

The strange statement seems to have caused the same bewildered look to appear on every person’s face.

When Dave notes he should continue on with his regard on the matter, he speaks again, “The coeurls are strong on their own, but we believe this man has something to do with why their pack is so successful in their hunts and escaping in the blink of an eye.

“If everything you have told us is true, what sort of aid have you come to seek from us?” King Regis questions in his dignified voice.

‘We’re hunters and put our lives down to hunt down many monsters, but we don’t have the power of warping to help us like your glaive soldiers. I’ve come here in the hopes to request the help of some of your soldiers.”

A councilwoman speaks up, “Hunter Auburnbrie, I do hope you can also provide proof of this matter and that it isn’t relying on based rumors.”

“Of course Councilwoman. I made sure to bring this along with me.” He takes out and holds up a small USB flash drive where everyone can see. He then hands it over to the projector technician where he begins to set everything up for the pictures within the small drive.

“Now, I’d like to brief you all on these specific pack of coeurls. They’re an elusive pack and seem to escape as soon as any other humans come into their line of sight. It has been extremely difficult trying to identify them, but comparing the characteristics of the aftermath of each livestock steal, we are positive it’s the exact same one. One of my hunters managed to capture a photo of who we believe is responsible in leading this pack around.”

With the technician finished setting everything up, he plugs in the flash drive and opens up the image onto a program to enhance the image.

As the picture begins to gain more details, the prince’s eyes go wide. His attention is soley focused on what’s being presented onto the screen. He turns to his father trying to relay what’s on his mind but words seem to be stuck in his throat. Regis doesn’t need Noctis to speak to know exactly what he's thinking. This must be why he had pushed this hunter’s name up to present his case and why his father needed him to see it as well.

He turns back to the zoomed in image on the screen studying the man. Matted sandy blonde hair, an over grown beard covering most of the bottom half of his face but that nose. The shape almost reminds him of- does he even want to raise his hopes up?

Noctis turns to Dave to ask, “Have you…estimated the age of this culprit?”

“It’s difficult to say with the few photos we were able to capture but our best guess we’d say is he’s in his early twenties, your highness.”

Noctis turns to his father and speaks in a low tone, “Do you think it’s- could it actually be him? I don’t want to get my hopes up, but if there’s a chance…”

“Noctis, be it a matter of if it’s actually him or not, Lucis citizens are out there who are asking us for help. I think I can safely say we’re all in agreement on what should be done, but I’ll leave the final decision up to you on this.”

Noctis stares back for a moment in awe and then firmly nods back in response. He stands up to direct everyone’s attention on himself. “Member’s of the council, this is a matter that has reached as far into our capital enough to affect even our citizens. I believe we should send out a special unit to _safely_ retrieve this man.”

~~

As preparations are being made, a team of Glaives have been ordered to go past Insomnian borders and retrieve the target they have been assigned to.

Noctis watches from a balcony peering down at the Glaive soldiers lined up and being briefed on the details of the mission. He exhales a sigh of annoyance. He so badly wanted to join in on the search and travel past the Wall, not only to get a change of scenery from his life in the Citadel, but mainly to discover if their target, the man that could actually be _him._ He doesn’t dwell on it long since his father walks up behind him.

“Are you still upset Noctis?"

"What could I possibly be upset for?" No sarcasm held back from the prince.

"Noctis, I'm being serious, can you still not understand why I’m so hesitant for you to go?”

“I would be fine out there Dad. Gladio and Prompto are already part of the Crownsguard. They can join me for it. Even Clarus says my warping has improved a lot lately.”

“Yes, but it is still only two men other than you. Even with all those bodyguards, it wasn’t enough to protect you against that ‘ _monster’_.” Regis looks away in an attempt to dissuade from having to recount that memory again.

Noctis too stays silent.

Regis sighs, “I’m sorry Noctis, but Gladio and your friend Prompto are just not enough for your personal protection. You have to also think how much more pressure it is on their shoulders if it’s just you three out there. So either wait for paperwork to be processed to have a Glaive join your group, or you stay here and have our prepared unit go and retrieve this man.”

Noctis still looks visibly upset, but he knows his father is just worried so he finally backs down and accepts all he can do for now is be patient.  

Regis leaves Noctis and heads toward the group of Glaives who are almost ready to head out. He stands in front of them and in an authoritative voice he announces, “Do whatever it takes to capture this man, but most importantly, _do not hurt him._ ”


	4. Ch.4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lil shorter than expected but only because I wanted to write the other half in a new chapter. Enjoy!

Almost a full week and the only reports Noctis ever hears back are all false alarms. It gets to a point where he has to tell them to only report back when they actually have a solid lead. It isn’t for another few days when Noctis’ schedule is interrupted by a Crownsguard who was sent to seek out the prince.

“Your Highness, we just got word back that they believe they’ve finally found the target.”

The prince almost steps back in disbelief. Truthfully, he was starting to feel like this search was a waste of time and resources that could have been put to better use. No one else would openly admit it either, but there seemed to be mutual agreement in the air about the whole thing.

The search may have been approved with good reason, but even Noctis felt his own selfish reasons were bleeding through and putting a strain on everyone involved. At least that’s how he felt until this moment.

“The team says they spotted the man with the pack, but they seem hesitant about this. They requested permission to go ahead with this pursuit.”

“Permission? Why would they need my permission when it clearly sounds like a good lead?”

The Crownsguard grimaces before he continues with the report. “Unlike the other Coeurl packs they’ve come across that were made up of regular Coeurls, this one has an Elder Coeurl amongst them. We have very limited knowledge ourselves on Elder Coeurls. According to the hunters, many who have went after just one don’t make it back alive…”

Noctis’ eyes widen hearing the new bit of information. He thinks for a moment.

“I see. Alright. Permission has been granted. Let them know they only need to retrieve the target. We don’t need any casualties for this.”

“Understood.” The Crownsguard bows quickly before running back off to their communications team.

\--

After waiting days, they hear back that the retrieval team is finally, _finally_ coming back with the target in custody. No casualties reported, thank the Astrals, just some injuries that Noctis would gladly request they take some time off for any recovery needed.

Waiting amongst the crowd, Noctis sees a metal container on a truck bed come into view. The closer the truck rolls in, the more worried everyone suddenly becomes when he also hears the violent banging coming from within.

He sees one of the Glaives jumping out from another truck following behind. He goes and questions her.

“Glaive Altius, right? What’s happening inside?”

“Your Highness, please step back. We need to move him to our containment cell. This individual is dangerous at the moment. The sedative in the tranquilizer must have worn off and he’s going into a violent rage.”

Hearing more banging, he instinctively steps back. The truck moves ahead and Noctis tries  to cut past the crowd to follow them to the entrance of the building. As prince, he easily gains access and enters in time to see them throw the man into the nearest containment unit meant for criminals.

 He quickly steps up to a random Glaive standing by and questions them, “What are they doing? The orders were just to retrieve him not throw him in there like a common thug.”

“Your Highness, please understand it wasn’t easy getting him to come along with us. Among trying to fight away the Coeurls to get to him, the individual himself was very adamant in not complying with us. We tranquilized him to make the trip smoother, but even as they were loading him into the truck, he was fighting back and attempted to…bite one of our men’s neck off.”

The prince was definitely shocked. He hadn’t expected to hear that tidbit. He looks past the Glaive and sees the Marshal of the Crownsguard talking amongst some other men in front of the containment cell. He hurries over to the Marshal hoping to get more answers from him.

“Cor, why are you here?”

“I was called down. Now that he’s in custody, we’re currently trying to figure out what to do with this man. We figured to have him processed as a fugitive.”

“Fugitive? No, wait, that’s not what this was meant to be. Why is he being treated like one?”

“According to the reports summarized, he’s been responsible for property damage and theft of local farms, a team was sent to apprehend him, and he’s been avoiding capture up to this point. Does that not sound like a fugitive of some sort?”

When put together like that, Noctis couldn’t think of an argument to fight back with in that moment.

He sees a light switched on to his side and looks over to see the type of holding cell they threw the man in. It’s a cell that contains a two-way mirror. They can look into the room, but the individual inside can’t see them, only their own reflection. 

Noctis watches as the man paces across the room inside. Stalking around, each step purposeful. Sharp eyes staring daggers into the glass like it’s the actual enemy. He’s mesmerized by the movement and how much this man encapsulates every trait of a Coeurl in human form. It takes Noctis a moment to shake himself out of his temporary stupor to remember why they’re all here in the first place. He has to find out. He has an idea and quickly turns back to the Marshal.

“Cor, you have to let me in there.”

Noctis saw a Coeurl in that cell, but suddenly feels like there’s a lion staring back at him like he drank stupid juice from a contaminated watering hole.

“You must think me a fool to let the Crown Prince of Lucis in there with a man who was ready to bite someone’s neck off.”

“It sounds idiotic, I know, but I think we just have to show him we’re not a threat because right now he thinks he was just kidnapped and can you blame him?”

The Marshal didn't agree or deny the statement.

“Cor…please."

He still didn’t say anything.

He lowers his voice to try and steady his resolve. "I have to know if that person in there is him. I have to know if it's actually,” his breath shakes a little, 

“Ignis.”

The Marshal closes his eyes, scowl in place. He almost looks like he’s reflecting, but Noctis doesn’t see this with his head lowered just waiting for the expected answer.

Cor lets out a heavy exhale of breath. “And you’re certain you know what you’re doing?”

Noctis looks up at the Marshal astounded. He was completely ready for his request to be denied.

He nods his head. “Yeah, I mean, yes, I think I know a way for him to get him to trust us somehow. If things go south, you’ll have my permission to interfere.” He says this with a look of determination he’s never had before.

Truthfully, Noctis has no idea what he would do. He just needed to find a way to get inside and take a closer look at this person. If fibbing on the spot would help then call him the Liar of Lucis.

“Alright, do what you can, but I need to get everyone here on board first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh ho ho ho the fun is about to begin :3c


	5. Ch.5

They all watch with waited breaths as Noctis nods at the guard to let him through. He places his hand on the door and pushes through.

From the inside of the holding cell, the heavy metal door opens ajar and the wild man sharply turns his attention to the door, already in a defensive stance, teeth bared, and growling darkly. Noctis slowly slides himself into the room. He stands there dumbly suddenly feeling like this was a terrible idea. He tells himself to calm down and just not make any sudden movements.

He braves himself enough to glance up at the man’s face and only needs to take one look into those eyes to see a beautiful pair of emerald hues that he knows belongs to one person and one person only.

Intelligent green eyes are studying him, but there is still that layer of suspicion concealed over them.

In a low voice, he tries asking, “Ignis, is that really you?” Noctis takes one step forward and suddenly the feral man lunges at him ready to attack if Noctis gets any closer. Noctis immediately halts any movement with open hands showing he’s holding nothing. He slows his breathing trying to figure out where to go from here.

He tries to think of anything that could help him in this situation. His mind flashes across to any wildlife documentary he has ever watched for ideas or even Gladio’s wilderness lessons but his mind comes up blank. He thinks to himself, _How in Ifrit’s hell are you supposed to calm someone down who is basically a Coeurl in human form?_  

He wonders why he didn’t watch anything in preparation for this. No, he thinks, how was he supposed to know he’d ever find himself in a situation like this? There has to be something.

An idea suddenly pops into his head. He thinks back to those cat videos he watched out of boredom. He remembers one about the explanation of different cat behaviors. The video that suddenly sticks out is the one on why cats expose their belly to their owners. They say it’s a sign of a cat trusting you with their life by exposing their most vulnerable side. When he thinks on it, Coeurls are pretty much big cats.

 

Right?

 

He wonders if this could work. In his head it sounds like such a stupid idea but it also seems like trying to talk with this person isn’t going to be possible at the moment. Well, here goes nothing. He slowly lowers into a crouching position and he catches the wild man’s attention. He observes, wary, watching for Noctis’ next move.

Noctis lays on his side on the floor while still keeping an eye out for any sudden movements from the glaring man.

Noctis then turns onto his back and lets his arms rest at his sides. While still looking up at the man, he closes his eyes and slowly turns his face away desperately hoping this conveys his message that he means no harm. His eyes are scrunched, terrified by the stretched silence in the room.

He then hears movement. He feels a presence slowly approach him. He feels a warm heat emitting from the man’s body now crouching over him.

He’s too nervous to look but can tell the man is now shoving his face close to his jugular and sniffs, and then he huffs.

Noctis almost twitches from the other’s facial hair tickling his neck, but he manages to keep still as the other continues to sniff close to and across his body. He then shoves his face between Noct’s legs sniffing right above his crotch. This whole situation feels so awkward now since he remembers they’re all watching everything from the other side of the two-way mirror. He somehow wills himself to not budge while he lets this man finish whatever he’s doing. He’s not sure how long he’s been laying on the ground, but he waits patiently for the other to make his final judgment. Then the unexpected happens.

The man goes back to Noctis' neck except now he’s rubbing his face there. Like he’s trying to rub his scent onto Noctis. Then Noctis hears a soft rumbling from his throat, almost like a purr?

Noctis chances to turn his face toward the man and slowly sits up.

He decides to try asking the other, “Do you-…know who I am?” Noctis looks to the man in hopes he’ll be recognized, but he just tilts his head to the side curiously.

Noctis flinches when the man suddenly grabs the paler hand and studies the soft digits. He takes notice their digits look similar. Glaives in their full garb, everything is practically hidden, making it feel alien to this wild man. He strokes each one with his rough calloused hands.  

Noctis slowly lifts his hand and lets it hover by the man’s head, hesitant at first, but then gently moves some of the other’s hair out of his face  to get a better look now that he’s close enough and locks eyes with the man, no, not just any man, but his dear friend he thought he had lost forever.

“Ignis, it really is you.” Noctis almost has to choke back tears staring into those emerald green eyes of his.

Minutes seem to pass by without them noticing.

The door of the holding cell is suddenly pushed open and Ignis whips his attention to the exit while pulling Noctis in front of him and throwing an arm around his chest in a protective embrace. He angrily glares at whoever was trespassing on this moment. Noctis’ face goes beet red when he suddenly remembers Ignis is a very naked man behind him right now and how firm his muscles are. He tilts his gaze over the muscled arm toward whoever was brave enough to walk in and sees none other than the Marshal.

“Hey Cor.”

“Noctis, I know you’re having fun with this…’reunion’, but they’re going to need to give him a check-up on his health.”

He looks up to see Ignis’ expression and knows the immediate answer.

“I don’t think that’s going to fly right now.”

Cor glances over to the supposed Ignis Scientia and locks eyes with the man. Sharp green orbs glaring back, judging him as a threat. Cor’s hand hovers over the handle of his katana waiting for the man to make any sudden movements if he dares hurt a hair on the head of the crown prince. Muscled arms squeeze around Noctis a little tighter while still holding his gaze on Cor.

“Cor, I think he’s feeling threatened with you standing there.”

Cor shifts his eyes onto Noctis. “Sorry if I can’t put my immediate trust on this man. You saw how much damage he inflicted on others.”

“Y-Yeah I know, I just- let me handle this, please.”

Cor looks between the two. He’s silent for a moment and closes his eyes. He pushes the blade back into the sheath and lets his arms fall back by his sides. “Do what you can.” He exits the room. Noctis turns back to Ignis. He taps the man’s shoulders gently, “You’re fine, it’s just us now. You can let go.” and smoothly slips out of Ignis’ embrace. He stands up, grabs the man’s wrist and leads him out of the room. Everyone moves out of the way for them. Ignis hovers over Noctis while glancing everywhere trying to detect even the slightest ounce of threat from anyone other than Noctis.

A nervous attendant nervously steps toward them.

“Excuse me your Highness, but we were told your uh, _companion,_ needed to be cleaned and bathed before he’s allowed to step into the Citadel’s clinic for a check-up.”

Looking at the other, he does notice the layer of sweat, dirt, and blood (probably not Ignis’) on the man. He nods back to the attendant. “Alright, I’ll take him to the bathhouse.”

They walk their way there with Noctis leading and Ignis observing his surroundings in awe. He looks up at the high ceilings and ornate décor. They finally make it to the door of the washing room. It’s an extravagant bathroom with a large bathtub. One attendant drops by to roll a cart of soaps and towels for Noctis and a couple of maids arrive to tend to their new guest and help with the bathing. Noctis looks up to see Ignis’ judgement of the petite women and he seems to deem them as not a threat. In his mind, he believes he can overpower them and escape if need be. So they all go inside and quietly close the door.

When everything seems ready, Noctis turns and is about to leave to give Ignis some privacy when he suddenly feels a pull on his arm. He looks behind him and sees Ignis was the one who grabbed him.

It seems Ignis doesn’t want him out of his sight. Noctis decides to bring a chair over by the tub to sit nearby while the maids move Ignis to the already filled tub of warm water. They begin working on him by pouring a gentle stream of water over his head. They scrub out all dirt and particles with soap and soon enough, Ignis is clean with a towel wrapped around his waist so he’s at least decent now.

An electric razor goes off and startles Ignis to quickly look around where the noise is coming from and eyes warily at the maid holding it in her hand.

“Calm down, it’s loud I know, but it won’t hurt you.” It doesn’t seem like Ignis registered anything he said and continues to hunch toward Noctis away from the razor.

Noctis decides to hold Ignis’ hand tight to try and let him know he’ll be fine. With Noctis right next to him, he decides it’s safe enough for him to sit still.

The ladies manage to wield scissors and the electric razor to shave away the thick facial hair on his face and cut away most of his tangled matted mess of hair away. Thick chunks of hair fall onto the floor. They leave enough hair length to be able to comb through.

They stand Ignis up with the towel still wrapped around his waist for the maids to measure his body for suitable clothes. While they measure him, Noctis is stunned by the transformation. He’s speechless at how handsome Ignis is without all the matted and dirty hair in the way. Now that he’s clean, he can actually take in the other man’s appearance. He can clearly see scars across his body, but it’s the ones on his face that breaks his heart. Deep cuts on his right brow, bottom lip, and one across his nose. Then there’s the one over his left eye. He decides to dwell on this later. He’s more happy at the fact that he really looks like the Ignis he remembers, just older and…much firmer.

Ignis runs his fingers through his newly attained shorter length of hair and caresses his own face at how smooth it is now.

Noctis grins. “Guess you like your tidy new look, huh?”

~~

Now that Ignis is cleaned, dried, and dressed properly, just a black t-shirt and sweatpants found on short notice, they take him to the other side of the Citadel where their clinic is. They’ve been notified ever since he arrived to make sure a space was open for Ignis for an immediate check-up.

While in the waiting room, Noctis tries to get Ignis to talk.

“Do you think you can try saying my name?” With his index finger, he points at his own chest.

“I’m Noctis. Noc-tis.”

He attempts to imitate the sounds coming from the other’s mouth, “Nnoc…tiss.”

“Nno-ct.”

Noctis smiles and eyes light up with delight. “Right, and you’re Ignis. Ig-nis.” He does the same and points at the other’s chest. He goes back and forth trying to get him to understand the difference.

“Noct. Ig-nis.”

“Yes, Ignis, that’s perfect.”

Ignis hears people approaching and shields Noctis with an arm when doctors in white coats enter the room to greet them. He glares at them.

Noctis tries to calm him down and shows they aren’t a danger. Ignis reluctantly goes along but only to follow Noctis.

“Have a seat your highness.” He takes one of the chairs right next to the examining bed where they have Ignis sit.

Looking down at the clipboard, the doctor asks, “So, you believe this is your childhood friend Ignis Scientia who went missing years ago, correct?”

“Yes, I’m positive it’s him.”

The doctor then goes to their computer and scrolls through files.

“Well, we do need to check his blood samples anyways, make sure he’s in good health. We’ll also have to compare it to the blood sample in his file registered on here when he was younger. If it’s him.”

Noctis scowls at that statement. “Of course it’s him. Do you not believe me?”

The doctor notices the prince’s reaction. “It’s not that we don’t believe you, but for medical records sake, we just want to make sure we’re updating the right file.”

Noctis tries not to let their skepticism affect him. He just knows in his heart that the person right next to him is Ignis. He shouldn’t be getting upset right now though. If people need papers to believe him, then fine.

The rest of the check-up goes as smoothly as one would expect. Nurses come in and take every available DNA sample from him. Ignis growling and snarling at the cold objects that keep touching him but Noctis firmly stands next to him and whispers soft reassurances.

“Well, seems like we’re done for today. We’ll work as fast as possible and call you in after the test results come back.”

~~

After they walk out, Noctis hears his ringtone go off. He takes the phone out of his pocket and slides to answer.

[You stupid son of a bitch Noctis. When I heard about your little stunt down by the cells, I was pretty livid that you didn’t call me down right away to protect you.]

“Sorry Gladio. All I was thinking at the time, ‘that could be Ignis inside’...and that you'd probably stop me.”

He hears the big man exhale on the other side of the line.

[S’alright. As long as you didn’t die I guess. I did hear what happened in there. Now I’m just thinking I wish I was there just to see the whole thing and laugh my ass off.]

Noctis flushes red in embarrassment remembering the naked encounter. He hears rumbling right next to him. He notices it’s coming from Ignis’ stomach.

“Listen, I gotta go, okay? I think maybe Ignis is hungry.”

~~

Noctis calls in to ask if they can prepare a dining room for the two of them and have the cooks make a variety of foods to see what Ignis would prefer to eat. The two get seated and don't have to wait long for the food to arrive.

Noctis picks up a plate of smoked ham and puts it in front of Ignis. He figured since he just came out of the wild, meat is probably the best option. Noctis uses a fork and eats from his own plate hoping Ignis would imitate him but Ignis eyes his food suspiciously. Noctis is at a loss of what to do. He needs Ignis to eat. If he ate with a pack of coeurls, he must have eaten like they did. He thinks about the raw carcass meat he probably ate and almost gags at the thought. Well, he's pretty sure they’re not going to let him continue his diet of raw meat. Noctis figures he probably doesn’t know how to use utensils and so he picks a slice of ham up and eats it that way. Ignis looks curious now more than suspicious but he still isn’t trying any of the food. Noctis can’t believe he’s reducing himself this way but now he forgoes eating with his hands and eats straight off the plate with his mouth. He’s chewing the food from his position and glances up to see Ignis look away from his plate and looks at Noctis' instead. He takes another slice for himself from Noctis' plate thinking it’s safer than the one on his own even though it’s the exact same food but at least he’s finally eating. Noctis then takes a drink from his cup and tips it so the liquid slides down his throat. Ignis studies this and this time actually decides to try it himself. He tries to copy the movements but tips it too far up and spills the water all over his face. The liquid goes up his nose and down the wrong pipe and he begins coughing and sputtering the water out. Noctis gets out of his chair to start patting and rubbing Ignis’ upper back.

“Okay, um, maybe this would be easier?”

He takes one of the empty bowls and dumps the water in there. He pushes the bowl to ignis hoping now it’d be easier to drink like that. Ignis glances at the bowl and then at Noctis. Noctis sighs, he grabs the bowl in both hands and lifts it to his lips, slowly tipping the bowl up and getting the liquid into his mouth. Noctis puts the bowl back down and slides it to Ignis.

“You wanna try now?”

Ignis is a bit hesitant at first, but tries it. He ends up downing the whole thing, not realizing how dehydrated he felt.

“Good job.” He smiles. “So what do you want to try next?”

~~

It’s barely 8pm, but Noctis realizes how exhausted he is. He sees Ignis looking even more tired than him. He even sways a little. He must have been running on pure adrenaline earlier along with keeping up his guard the whole day.

Well, it’s late enough for bedtime anyways. They are shown to one of the rooms they prepared for Ignis with the bed made and everything. Noctis walks with him to his bed and tries to get him to go to sleep on the mattress.

“I know you’re more tired than me, so here, just lay down.”

He lifts up the comforter and makes Ignis sit. He pushes him onto the bed to lie flat and pulls the cover over Ignis’ body. Once he sees him settled in, Noctis turns to leave to go to his own room. As soon as he starts turning the door knob, right behind him he hears strange huffs. He looks back and sees Ignis sitting up making sad chuffing noises at him. Noctis walks back to stand by the bed.

“Do you want me to stay?”

Ignis doesn’t answer, but the look in his eyes says enough.

He sighs. “Fine. I’m too tired to walk back to my room anyway. Scooch over then.”

He gets under the covers with him. They lie down for what feels like barely five minutes, but Ignis keeps tossing and turning not getting comfortable, in turn keeping Noctis from his slumber. Ignis sits up suddenly and fusses with the covers and pillows. He watches as Ignis builds a nest of some sort. Once satisfied, Ignis curls his body around Noctis and lays his arm over him. He exhales a deep and contented sigh.

Noctis just accepts he’s stuck there until morning when he hears gentle purrs from the larger man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was looking at the previous comments for this story and felt motivated to finish this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it! Always excited to hear your thoughts ^p^
> 
> btw, you ever hear a tiger chuff, it's so cute...


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